Avoiding Burnout Before You’re Already Burned Out
Tips for building resilience and self-care
Category: Health and Wellness
Have you ever felt like you just can’t handle one more task, one more email, or one more request? It’s that feeling of complete and utter exhaustion, loss of motivation, and stress that seems to have no end in sight.
You might observe a drop in work performance, even if you feel like you’re trying even harder than usual. Or, you might feel like you’re stuck in a rut and unable to get out of it. You’re not alone.
It happened to me. One day, I felt like I had the dream job as a copywriter, and I could churn out pages and pages of copy. But then came a time where I thought I was just… withering.
I wasn’t able to write one paragraph without making grammatical errors, I wasn’t able to see what I did wrong. Anything I did which was so easy before took 100 times the effort, and even then, it wasn’t well done.
To my colleagues and boss, it might have looked like I just lost my passion for what I did, was slipshod in my work, and a liability. I was miserable, tired, and angry every day, and at one point, I was simply waking up in a daze, and heading to my workplace like a zombie.
I always remember how even combing my hair before I went out seemed like an arduous task, and even eating seemed meaningless. I could go on…. But long story short, after I got my life back on track, it dawned on me that what happened to me was burnout.
Burnout. It’s a type of fatigue that arises from feeling persistently overwhelmed. It results from prolonged and excessive emotional, physical, and mental stress, commonly related to one’s job, amongst other factors.
When one is overwhelmed, emotionally exhausted, and unable to meet the constant demands of life, burnout can occur. For me, it consumed me before I knew that it had happened to me, and I don’t wish this on anyone.
There are so many articles out there on preventing burnout, but looking back, I found that not all worked for me. Read on for some of my personal experiences and what I would have done differently.
1. Watch out for warning signs, and recognise that it’s ok to feel them.
Personally, I already knew the warning signs — what really broke me was my thought that burnout was something that would never happen to me. I was doing what I loved, I wasn’t some banker, doctor or lawyer working in a high-stress environment, and… every job comes with stress.
It also didn’t help that I came from generations of hard workers — I mean, my life compared to theirs is CUSHY. Looking back, I wish that I had been kinder to myself, and stopped comparing myself to others.
I mean, burnout happens even to the best of us, and we all have our own unique circumstances and limitations, so it’s important to set realistic expectations and boundaries.
2. Make a conscious effort to work on the warning signs.
If you do an online search for tips on preventing burnout, you’ll see hundreds of articles talking about things like setting boundaries, eating right, sleeping enough, finding joy and more. But as someone who has been there, sometimes it seems impossible to do all those, when you’re swamped with so much work.
At some point, the little things like taking small breaks and talking to friends don’t seem to help. Looking back, I feel like preventing burnout is not about taking a few hours or days break when you feel like you’re reaching your breaking point — it’s a long-term thing.
3. Know that you don’t have to “overhustle” if you don’t want to
Now, this happened in my younger days — when you meet . At some point, it became “normal” and even a competition to see who was was “sucked dry the most” It’s not “cool” to be stressed. But it’s not cool to be stressed, and it’s not worth sacrificing your mental health for the sake of overworking. You do you!
4. Utilise your vacation days
People have vacation days for a reason. It’s easy to feel guilty or like you don’t deserve a break, but that’s not true. You deserve time off to do the things you love and come back refreshed and more productive.
So do it! I had many vacation days left over at one point. But I didn’t feel good about taking a break (even though my boss would have been supportive).
I thought, “oh, but I have so many projects to finish”, “oh, but I can’t finish my work”, “I didn’t achieve much over the past few months so I don’t deserve a break”, or the winner — with my workload, I simply can’t afford to take a break. I feel like I’d be able to recharge better, and be more productive (and faster) after a break.
At the same time, I do understand that not everyone is as fortunate as me to have a supportive boss who saw the value of taking a break — I don’t know what you can do about this, but I’ve had friends who searched for new job opportunities and are much happier today.
5. Have some savings or financial net in place
I know, this doesn’t sound like a piece of advice for mental health, but one of the main reasons why I was so reluctant to take a break was — money. If I took a break, I wouldn’t have a stable income anymore.
In fact, I would just be bleeding money, and the concept of it was not attractive at all. Eventually, the break I was forced to take actually lost me more money (not that I regret it, since it brought me to where I am today), because it took me about a year to feel alright again, If I had some money set aside, or perhaps some passive income streams, I think I would have been more open to take a break. Maybe it would have been just a few months.
Remember that preventing burnout is a long-term effort and that you are not alone in experiencing it! Make a conscious effort to work on those warning signs, set realistic expectations and boundaries, and know that you don’t have to overwork.
Burnout is real, but it’s not something you have to go through alone. Take care of yourself and remember that your health and well-being are essential. By building resilience and practising self-care, you can stay healthy and happy, both personally and professionally.
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